As with Aran, Reign was late.

Not entirely by his fault, though. The cheetah king had been... aimless, the past few cycles. Drifting in and out of chrysalis, feeling detached from the happenings of the Seven.

He still wasn't over what happened at the Town Hall all those cycles ago, still wasn't over the terrifying thought of having to give up his children for some outside force. And naturally, Reign found himself avoiding the Forum. Avoiding any thought of the Masters that ruled over them all. Cowardly of a king to hide from something like that, but it was what he did.

One day he will be a regal ruler, but for now Reign was not.

He couldn't avoid the world forever, though. The Seven still operated, and sooner or later the cheetah heard about the great meeting. Orchestrated by a deer unfamiliar to him and assisted by Pride. The subject? Taking down Mother.

... Mother.

He remembered the battle. He remembered fighting in it, fighting for the side of good. He remembered the screams of a little girl.

He remembered the crunch when her body hit the floor.

After such injustices were committed, Reign couldn't bear to sit around and watch. So he came.

He trotted through the ruined streets. He came across the Forum. He entered through one of the crumbling arches. He sat down close to the clearing, a nod towards Pride and James, and he listened.

The speaker was already halfway through ('Is that a crown like my own, atop his head...?') but his message was clear-- the Hive was back, despite their apparent success in Cetus. And it was bloodthirsty. He watched the display of fungus with golden eyes, he listened to Tahi's word on the Masters. He may not have had fungal magic, he may not like the Masters... but Reign will join this battle. He'll risk life-and-limb to take down the hivemind. For Pride. For the Seven.

For the little girl.

He didn't say anything.

"Ah, uh, hi," was Attikias's first words to anyone other than those he knew, directed to the approaching Charon. A worried glance was given to Carja- did they know each other? Was it racist to assume dragons knew each other? He looked back to Charon anyways, stepping aside to let the bigger beings be close.

He'd let Carja do the talking for now, nodding, and glancing to the Forum floor. "Ah, it's leather- it's got a wood core," he offered as an explanation. "Good for armor, too." The two seemed close- and it was good for them, and he gave a small smile. His voice was low- cautious to not interrupt Tahi-shei before he spoke.

And speak he did. Attikias remained standing as he looked up, watching the deer lay down the information and address those present. He knew what to expect- teaching of Mother, training, offering of service- and his knuckles gripped just a little tighter on the sword he was holding. He would do this for his family.

But would he come back for them? Trouble stirred in his core at the familiar thought, but he shook it away quickly, renewing his gaze with determined eyes. The dull blade tip rested on the ground as he watched, tail swaying in idleness and unease. He was a battler. He owed this duty to Vargas. He owed it to keep the caves safe.

Anyone that would strip him of the family he'd cultivated with some artificial one was a monster.

Tahi-shei was continuing, and Attikias found himself spinning the blade in place as he listened, giving some output to the restlessness that weighed on his mind. None of this was good. He should have found Astraea- he needed to find Astraea. The elf's gaze glanced to the side. Just as he owed something to Vargas, Astraea owed something to him, or so he believed- or, perhaps, he needed to know more about just who he was. Was he going to die with all these uncertainties?

No. Tahi-shei said he wouldn't die. Said he wouldn't let anyone die, or get corrupted by Mother, or hurt their family. This was a raid.

Stepping forward and clearing his throat after the question of location was given, Attikias added in his own voice: "Do we know who is under Mother, currently?"

It would be good to know who they were up against, and what kind of magic they'd have to deal with.

Pride, for the most part, simply observed. Others were arriving--some he knew, some he didn't. He wandered, a sort of natural gravitation, over to where Attikias was greeting him. He gave him a nod, a gentle sweep of pale tines. "Attikias," he said softly, so as not to interrupt the meeting. It was given a greeting but it sounded unintentionally stiff, as if the stag were somehow merely confirming the elf's identity. But it was followed, at least, with greeting. "Good to see you, too. How are you?"

Attikias had other people to talk to, too--he was at once addressing Tahi-shei--and Pride was content to sort of linger in the back of it all, on the sidelines. He intended to watch, listen, maybe to learn; he'd see what the other deer was teaching, and how, and maybe give it a go himself. But he didn't want to interfere, too much--this wasn't his meeting, and so on.

Still, he was glad to see one other Seven member there, and after a few moments beside Attikias he made his way to Reign. He wondered how the cheetah was doing--he saw Reign only now and then, and the cat hadn't really been around Pride since news of Nassir had reached them. It wasn't necessarily that Reign himself was absent, so much as that Pride simply hadn't seen him about. "Reign," he greeted, in much the same way as he'd said hello to Attikias; "How've you been?"

It was asked with genuine concern; he wasn't sure how the cheetah had been holding up.

When Tahi-shei began his speech--information well-organized and -delivered--Pride fell silent, his full attention on the other stag. His body remained still, ears cupped forward, as he listened. But for now, he did not speak.

Oh, this was... a lot of people.

Giggle hesitated, eyeing the clot of strangers with a dark and wary eye, before slinking along to settle on the outskirts. She didn't know them, and she rarely left Canis; the two factors combined ratcheted her anxiety up a nasty notch and left her huddled and suspicious.

Rather than join the meeting proper, she sat just on its edges--close enough to listen, to clearly be a part, even to attend. But far enough, too, that she was likely to be spared much interaction. She knew a few of them, of course--Tahi-shei, for one, naturally. Pride and Reign--she recognized the Seven.

And then, she listened.

The description of Mother had her thinking about it all over again. The idea that it was something terrible, malicious; it certainly had been alive, wanting to spread and to protect itself. But was it evil? ...It was stupid, in Giggle's mind, but evil?

Any moreso than the shadows that coiled around Senka, or the manipulation of Astraea? Giggle wasn't sure. She mulled it over, as Tahi-shei spoke on. The bones had suggested she even trust the stuff--nurture it. It was only on Aure's direction that she'd ever gotten rid of it. Of her samples. Samples... Tahi-shei had never known about, now that she thought about it. Had he? She couldn't remember, now, and it wasn't really important.

But it did occur to her that anyone here could be an imposter: a carrier of the fungus, a spy on Mother's behalf. Curious, she cast out her own senses, silent as the others spoke--reaching for any who might be bearing it, or for that matter, any other fungus, too.

rain stock: D Sharon Pruitt wiki commons; hyena Benjamin Hollis on flickr

"Comet." Tahi's tone of voice was hard, and she flinched. She knew that James probably won't be too happy that she was here, but she just wanted to learn! But Tahi? Comet didn't expect him to look so unhappy about it. But then again, she didn't know him too well. It seemed like he had noticed his own tone was a bit too hard, and he continued more gently. "I just want to learn. I want to be able to protect my family!" she stared hard at both Tahi and James, daring them to contradict her.

James understood, she leaned in under his wing and listened to his words. "I didn't bring Peggy here, and I won't go to Ursa." a sniff, "Just... in case something bad happens, I need to learn and protect our family." a thought sprang into her mind, and she frowned, "Renny, are you going to the fight?" Concern spread over her face, and Comet shuffled her paws.

With that, she perked her ears towards Tahi to listen, taking in the information. This 'Mother' was worse than she thought! But that only made her more resolute in wanting to try her best in learning what the deer would be teaching.

@James (talked to)

His speech went over well enough, and he was pleased. Feeling quite a lot taller than he usually did, certainly, but... still. Proud. Tahi-shei had hesitated to think of himself as a general, concerned of overstepping and thinking too highly of himself in comparison to the Master, but despite his rag-tag army he certainly felt like. All of these Gembound were here to obey his command... well. Most of them. Some were just here because they wanted to do him a favor, or wanted an excuse to beat something up. But that was fine -- they were still taking orders. The Master would mold them into whatever shape he saw fit.

He was pleased to find that Giggle had trickled in -- he caught sight of her on one of his sweeps, and it was like a weight off his shoulders. He relaxed slightly at finding her there, became a bit calmer. Not that he wasn't already beside James. Then, of course, came the questions -- and they were all rather manageable, thank the Spire.

He acknowledged Arwen first. Calling James Sunset Consort sat somewhere left of unwell with him -- James was not his inferior or his servant -- but he didn't mention it further. She'd say whatever she liked. "Excellent work." A flicker of concern flashed through him at the thought of unpleasant side effects, but they'd cross that bridge when he got to it, he supposed. "Every little bit helps."

He caught sight of the slight commotion, glancing over at the stranger with the bear at their side. They seemed to be having trouble breathing -- perhaps they'd had prior experiences with Mother? He could imagine that. From what he'd heard, there'd been an outbreak in the past. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so blunt.

Next concern -- Twisted's question. His eyes snapped to her when she started speaking, focusing briefly on her emerald before looking around to answer. He combed through his memory for a moment before answering, "In the tunnels, underneath the mountains. It is my assumption that this refers to Ursa, especially considering that Mother is fond of cold. But I did not explicitly ask, so perhaps Master Vargas has surprises in store for us yet." He forced himself not to wince -- the Leviathan's surprises weren't all that pleasant, from what he could imagine.

As for who was infected... He nodded at Attikias. It was an insightful question. "Assuming they were not cured after the Raid, the infected who managed to escape were a giant shifting mantis, a large and bipedal reptile taller than I am, and two dragons -- one black, one white. However, there may be other Mother infected creatures lurking in the Caves, and who knows how many more they have infected. Unfortunately, it is best to be cautious -- that is why I plan to teach all of you Gray Sense, if you are willing to put in the effort to learn it."

Then, hearing Comet's question (though it was not addressed to him), he glanced over at her and inclined his head slightly. Addressing the whole crowd, he said, "Not all of you have agreed to bear allegiance to Master Vargas. Not all of you have agreed to put your lives on the line. That is not what I am asking of you. A few Gembound keeping towards the back to monitor, cleanse, and strategize will be every bit as useful as the majority who fight on the front lines."

He straightened himself up, and looked back around. "If that is all, the first spell I will teach you is called Gray Sense. It allows for you to see fungus all around you, including the parts too small to see with the naked eye. It will also allow for you to see fungus located inside the body." He reflected on casting it himself, and began his explanation -- it promised to be lengthy.

"All of us have a type of magic to which we are naturally attuned. It is the magic we were born with, the magic which comes naturally to us, and the magic that we may pass on to our children should we decide to have them. However, we are capable of learning other types of magic as well. It has been my discovery that different magic must be thought about and controlled in different ways. For lack of better phrasing, different magic wants different things." He paused, and considered. "For example, fire wants to burn and consume. It is difficult to control, and it holds great power. But it will scorch you just as badly as it does your enemies. Electricity is wild, powerful, and sometimes uncontrollable -- you need to ground yourself properly and control your emotions so that you don't hurt yourself or others. Some magic, however, is more passive -- fungus is one of these magics."

He cast a glance towards Giggle, hoping that he was explaining this properly. "It is a sensing magic, one that effects the mind more than the body. Though make no mistake -- it can impact your body as well. It must feed off of substrate, whether that be rock and soil or flesh and magic. It is more similar to you than it is to plant life, despite what it might look like. In some especially talented Gembound, it can give them visions and glimpses into what I would venture to call the soul. Gray Sense focuses on the sensing elements of fungus -- it takes what wishes to hide and forces it to be seen. It requires a quieting of the mind that I call meditation, a state where you gently let your thoughts and concerns and anxieties fall away. Letting thoughts and messages come into your mind, before you ultimately act upon them. But in this case, it requires you to focus your meditation in such a way that your magicka is extended and this fungus becomes visible to you."

Tahi-shei paused, and then looked a little sheepish. "Well, that's how I learned how to do it, anyway. Some Gembound just know how to do things naturally, or can do them as soon as they get the idea to. Some can't do it at all. Everyone is a little bit different, so don't feel bad if you don't pick up on it as soon as the others. If you are already of the Fungal element, I imagine this will be easier -- if not, you will have to practice taking your magic's natural... vibe, I suppose, and channeling it into a different one. Like light refracting through a prism," he said instinctually, before remembering that Giggle hadn't known what that meant, so others probably wouldn't, either. If only he knew how to replicate it.

He glanced for a moment at Pride's gemstone. No, never mind -- he'd never agree to that, he mused, and then looked back over the crowd.

"I'll walk around and help those who want me to help them, and answer more questions in the meantime," he said lightly, "but after this meeting those of you who wish to learn them will have a week to practice these spells before I bring you before the Master."

Tahi-shei glanced to James, a warm look in his eyes. "Once everyone has had some time to practice Gray Sense, we'll move on to Fungal Wake."

@pride @attikias @madhukar @twisted @comet @tema @aran

James listened to Arwen as she addressed them, cheeks burning at the title, his feathers puffing up. Sunset Consort. He liked that. It addressed both his wings, the color of his magic, and his partnership to Tahi. How lovely.

Though a part of him wished such a name didn't tie him to Tahi. He was his partner, but he'd learned that being completed by another, by remaining dependent one someone was simply unhealthy. But supplementing? As awkward as it sounded, having a partner and willingly sharing your life with them but not specifically needing them to survive was better.

"... That's nice," he said softly, "But I much prefer Sunset Runner."

James stood next to Tahi, supportive, welcoming, but still ultimately his own person, after all. But with a simple nod of support, he turned back to Comet, to talk softly, knowing what he was to say already.

"I wish for you to teach your siblings what I've taught you," he said softly, "And you need only worry for my safety in terms of exhaustion. I'm not fighting, I've never been a fighter. You know me. I'll do as Tahi says and linger behind to assist in removing mother and sensing the fungus. If there are wounded, I'll carry them away."

Back to Tahi, now. He turned to listen to the very end, his heart fluttering.

"Wonderful," he said, having practiced the spell plenty, both during the raid and outside of it.

It honored him that one he considered an expert in the ways of fungal magic turned to him in regards to one of the spells, as simple as it was.

@Comet

Arwen respectfully lowered her head to James and nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

She stepped back and stood next to a deer, and craned her head up to peer at him. She knew not his name, but others would know him as Pride.

"... Do you need those?", she asked suddenly, in lieu of an actual greeting, her arm stuck up and one finger pointing at his antlers, "If you don't, could I have them please? They're awfully nice."

Unfortunately she couldn't actually make puppy eyes, both because she lacked the facial muscles to do such a thing and because she had a mask affixed to her face. But at least the mask had a similar expression, mimicking a smiling doll's face.

But anyways, the antlers would make a beautiful crown... or maybe a shoulder piece? If she got them, that was.

"I'm Queen of Lies," she said after a few seconds, eyes having glazed over in thought, "The Prince gave me one of his teeth to convince me to come, it was so sweet of him."

Arwen held up her necklace and pointed to one of the charms on the string around her neck, carved painstakingly into the rough shape of Tahi's crown.

"I like him, he's so polite," she hummed, clasping her hands together.

The crowd intermingled. Whispers were exchanged around the rotunda. The cheetah's head turned as Pride, pale coat as sleek as always, approached. "Reign, how've you been?" The question was laced with concern, and it mellowed him a bit that others were worried about him. But that was fine. Pride was a compassionate soul, after all.

"I've been holding up well." his deep voice was to-the-point, but respectful. No need to delve any deeper when other's lives were at stake. "How about you, Pride?"

Tahi-Shei's speech started up again, mainly answering questions. They were headed to Ursa. Good information to know. The king-to-be hadn't visited any of the new caves personally, though he was aware of their location. The mention of Vargas pulled a slight frown from his lips, though it was soon gone. And then came the instruction: performing a spell he dubbed "Grey Sense."

It was true that each gembound specializes in a certain type of magic. Reign himself was best in the area of sparks and lightning, of bolts of plasma that could kill in an instant. But if he concentrated he could do other acts, too: make the sky ring out in thunder, conjure a barrier of pure energy before him, or... make bananas. Magic was strange like that. Fungi was something different altogether, something gentler. And try as he might, he couldn't replicate the sensory spell he described, no matter how hard he meditated.

Ah, oh well. Perhaps he'll get it later.

His attention shifted to Pride again. Currently being asked for his antlers by... a smiling grub? The king cheetah couldn't help but chuckle at the odd request, only to become even more astounded by the actual tooth hanging on a cord. It wasn't just a joke, then.

Well... the fight against Mother needs everyone they can get, right?

Addresses @Pride

Spiraling in fog was a groggy, treacherous experience, but at least Madhukar was getting somewhere. The direction of where was a gamble; there was a one in an unknown infinity change of it being wrong direction, and Madhukar liked those odds. She was trying to think about other things, a "happy place" if you want to call it that. (But please, at least scratch the "imaginary".) It was only when the next recognizable face popped onto her radar that Madhukar went right back to doubting her own ability to escape this plummet.

"Can I help?" First of all, her presence in and of itself was a disaster. Second of all, Madhukar wasn't in the breathing mood right now, much less the speaking mood. In fact, she hadn't even really tried speaking when like this. It might not actually-- Madhukar was pretty certain that it wouldn't, well... work. "Stomp ... twice for no." Could she do that? How was she supposed to-- 'That's your cue!' So Madhukar did it.

Stomp. Stomp. No.

She then attempted to shuffle away, farther into the developing crowd. If only words spoken could physically manifest -- Tahi's alone could shroud her in cycles worth of mystery. A shame they couldn't, but not a complete loss. Not a complete loss.

She blundered off without another word, diving through a crowd with more vigor in her step than expected. It was almost as if she had packed her panic in a nice little box and took it to-go. That's what survival tactics do: they make you survive (it's in the title). Still, she wobbled, and she couldn't make it too far before loss of concentration dragged her pack into that endless whirlpool of self-induced torment. Memories. Flashbacks. Why do we HAVE them--

With more focus and time, Madhukar was able to get herself to sit down and listen to other things. Her sitting was sloppy, suspiciously cat-like. It hurt her back.

The Fungal Prince Tahi-shei began to describe Gray Sense to the audience. She knew this spell. He had urged her to come to Polaris to show her his Electricity spell. That was where he told her how he started this whole mess that he had learned two spells. They had practiced to take his mind off of the mistake and CLEARLY that guilt had VANISHED like SMOKE-- Then they had gotten tired.

They were to practice this spell -- the whole of them. Tahi-shei's theory about learning spells out of one's own element hadn't changed since then. He's right about Electricity of course-- Madhukar wasn't going to try it... a miscast of any kind could be a dead, or killer, your choice give away about her identity. The last time she had felt new magic within her had been before you tried to k-- her most recent chrysalization. She hadn't practiced magic in a while, actually. She missed the feeling. There was no telling who you could hurt what accidents could happen if she tried to practice now.

So instead, Madhukar would watch. Keep her eyes off of Tahi-shei -- she couldn't bear to look at him, especially not now. Fungal Prince-- Anything to keep her mind out of her body. Anything to keep her mind out of her body. Better hope Tema isn't watching you. Anything to--

Think "Speak"